1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to connectors for connecting electrical wiring, and in particular, to a connector member which is adapted to house metal terminals which are to be connected to terminals in another connector member. The connector member has at least one terminal retainer to lock the terminals in position, and a locking arm which locks the connector member to another connector part.
2. Description of Related Art
A connector member of this type equipped with terminal retainers is shown in JP-A-8-287992. The connector is composed of a connector housing body and two terminal retainers. On one face of the housing body, there is a resilient locking arm for locking the connector member in position in a complementary connector part which is in the form of a housing for receiving the connector member. This locking arm is partly located in a recess which is formed at the central part of the upper face of the housing body, and is designed not to protrude from the housing body more than required.
Gaps are present between the locking arm and the side faces of the recess. These gaps permit a smooth fit with the receiving connector part. However, these gaps allow the possibility of the invasion of foreign articles, particularly the trapping of a wire during assembly of the connector. There is also a risk of having the locking arm lifted if a wire is trapped beneath it, which would prevent its proper locking function, and result in an incorrect assembly of the connector.